The Influence of the Method of Delivery and the Clamping Technique on the Red Cell Volume in Infants of Diabetic and Non‐diabetic Mothers

Abstract

Summary The red cell volume has been investigated in 35 infants of diabetic mothers and in 18 infants of non‐diabetic mothers. It is shown that not only the clamping technique but also, the method of delivery has an influence on the red cell volume of the infant. Thus the red cell volume is less in infants delivered vaginally with early clamping, compared with infants delivered by caesarean section with early clamping. These findings support the theory that during vaginal delivery a temporary change in It is suggested that IDM during vaginal delivery with early clamping deposit more blood in the placenta than do the non‐IDM, since we found a smaller red cell volume per kg the distrfbution of. the foeto‐placental blood volume between placenta and child occurs.

Anatomy and Pathology of the Umbilical Cord and Major Fetal Vessels

“…Rarely is the allantois tissue accompanied by muscle, and even more uncommonly is the duct patent. Nevertheless, urination from the clamped umbilical stump has been reported, and cysts may even persist into adult life (Kreibich, 1947). A patent duct (urachus) on the abdominal wall may complicate pregnancy.…”

“…A marginally inserted cord may have aberrant branches that course over the membranes; even cords with more central position can have such vessels. Vasa previa may also occur with succenturiate lobes (Radcliffe et aI., 1961) and in bilobed placentas (Waidl, 1960;Kouyoumdjian, 1980). Scheuner (1965) studied the histological characteristics of nine term velamentous insertions and discussed the rich literature of this condition in detail.…”

“…The amount of fetal blood contained within the placenta varies. It is generally between 50 and 100 ml but is significantly greater in pregnancies of diabetic mothers (Kjeldsen & Pedersen, 1967;Klebe & Ingomar, 1974). Newton and Moody (1961) estimated that 9.4 ml of fetal blood per 100 g of placenta remained after delivery when the cord was ligated immediately, and there was 9.6ml of maternal blood.…”